setting up woods gun ???

[buckslugger]

Im setting up a woods gun ,old style contender,and Im having a hard time deciding what cartridge. Really like the 357 maximum,and have an Nef carbine rechambered for that round. Also have a Blackhawk in 45 colt ,which i also like alot. Im thinking that I want one
of these cartridges because im already set up for loading. What do you guys think : 357 MAXIMUM  OR   45 COLT ,your opinions
as usual will be highly valued and appreciated. Im also either going with a halo (or red dot) or 2x scope whats your opinion on that as well?

                                                                                    thanks roy

[jhalcott]

  since the .45 is a hand gun already,unless you REALLY want a barrel in that,I'd go with the 357MAX. Either will do out to ~100 yards. The Max will go a bit farther IF needed. I find 2x scopes SEEM to make the target SMALLER rather than larger!?I've got tasco's, Leo and burris 2x ,ALL have the same problem. I haven't used a halo or red dot scope so can't comment from personal experience. I have seen others use them with great results. If you could use one for some range time it would be best.

[jhalcott]

  I'm from Dundalk, where in Md. are you?

[buckslugger]

street, northwest of belair

[Gregory]

For the Illinois firearms season, I've been using a 10" 357 Max with a Nikon 2X.  It's worked very well for me at woods ranges.

[SD Handgunner]

That would indeed be a tough question. I have zero experience with the .357 Maximum, so am just speculating. I would think that there would be a better selection of Bullets available for the .357 Max. I would also think the .357 Max would have a little more range capabilities if ever needed.

As per the 2x Scope vs the Red Dot (halo) Sight, for me there would be no question. For me it would be a Scope. While I have never tried one for Deer Hunting (Electronic Sights are illegal here in South Dakota for Big Game Hunting) I have used (tried) a few for Small Game Hunting. It has been my experience that in low light conditions even with the dot brightness turned down as low as possible the DOT still produced too much glare for me to see my intended target. Now this was with Tube Type Red Dot Sights and not one of the Holographic Type Red Dot Sights. I finally gave up and went back to a Scope.

Larry

[buckslugger]

ouch $287 for a bellum properly chambered 357 max barrel, wow i thought the factory barrels would shoot good,any comments on this??

roy

[crabbies3]

hi im from down in bowleys quarters area of balt i had a custom 460 made up on a encore action has a 15 inch shilen barrel a real fine woods gun i use it in the mountain woods in vir. shoots hornady 240 magxtp real good at 100 yrds using a mild load tks for your time ken

[spinafish]

I believe if one were looking for a gun for whitetails only I would go with the .357 MAX ( I have one with a 12" barrel), but if hogs and/or bears were on the schedule I would opt for the .45 LC..It can be loaded to levels above 44 Mag with less pressure..I'm speaking of a 45LC only..not the 45/410..  I have an old Tasco Red-dot mounted on my .357 MAX barrel because that was what I had laying around..I would say it would work just fine somewhere around 75 years..but after that the dot covers way too much target..

[Lawful Larry]

I am a little confused.  You say that you want to set up a woods gun, but when you go on to describe what you are going to do it sounds like you want to set up a hunting gun?!?  The definition of a woods gun, as I know it, is that it is a secondary gun to your primary hunting gun.  It would be used to shoot game at a closer distance that would not be able to do with, say a scoped rifle.  Or to protect oneself from very large critters.  This is what I use/call my woods gun:



This is a .45 Colt caliber Bisley blackHawk that I carry holstered while in the woods while hunting.  It is loaded with heavy reloads that can take most all four legged critters on the North American continent. 

Now are you talking about a primary hunting gun or hunting sidearm?